


Dance Dance Everybody!

by hotchocolatedictator



Series: Works inspired by Time Tracks [1]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Dancing, Drunk Dancing, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:35:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26611546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotchocolatedictator/pseuds/hotchocolatedictator
Summary: Sometimes old mistakes come back to bite you...Or, Gwen finds an old picture of Jack and a dance battle ensues
Series: Works inspired by Time Tracks [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1998697
Comments: 7
Kudos: 24





	Dance Dance Everybody!

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Time Tracks](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24840772) by [Cyborgtamaki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyborgtamaki/pseuds/Cyborgtamaki), [thirteeninafez](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirteeninafez/pseuds/thirteeninafez). 



> Inspired by (and relating to) the fantastic Time Tracks by thirteeninafez and cyborgtamaki! Go check it out!

‘Jack, can you come look at this?’

Jack wandered over to Gwen’s workstation, wondering what problem they were going to have to sort out now. What he wasn’t prepared for was to see a picture he’d forgotten even existed.

‘Where did you find that?’

‘Find what?’ Owen asked, coming over for a look. Jack could see Tosh getting up too, and coming to see what the commotion was about.

The picture on Gwen’s screen was an illustration of Strasbourg, 1518 - during the Dancing Plague. Somewhere Jack had visited, oh, 150 years ago? Back when he was travelling with the Doctor at any rate. And unfortunately, it was a plague spread by kissing. Situation like that? There was no way Jack was going to get out without catching it.

In the image, Jack was in the front of the crowd, his face clear for all to see and almost identical to how it was at present. And his body… his body was doing what was probably the best jive of his life. (Technically, that was. Being forced to dance honestly wasn't all that fun.)

Jack braced himself for what he knew would come.

'Nice dancing, mate,' Owen laughed, as Tosh broke out into giggles next to him.

‘Oh, shut it,’ he groaned, despite a slight smile on his face.

‘You should do it more often,’ Owen continued, ‘Break out with a waltz, bit of swing, even some funky chicken.’

‘Alright, back to work now,’ Jack said - mostly to get them to stop laughing at him.

And that was the end of that.

* * *

That wasn’t the end of that.

Owen made a joke about ballet the next day. The day after it was the tango. It was a couple of weeks before he ran out of dances from Strictly, at which point it went from classical to hip hop and the Macarena.

Jack was getting fed up.

* * *

‘Alright! You know what, I bet I can still dance better than you!’

‘You’re on, mate,’ Owen grinned, ‘You can’t spend as much time in clubs as I do without picking up a few tricks.’

Well, it’s a challenge now. And if there’s one thing Captain Jack Harkness doesn’t do, it’s turn down dance challenges.

‘You know that nightclub on Castle Street?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Tonight at eight, Rift allowing. We can settle this once and for all.’

‘I’ll see you there.’

Jack turned around to see Tosh and Gwen hovering, very clearly listening in.

‘You two coming? We’ll need someone to judge.’

‘You two having a dance off? This is going to be hilarious,’ Gwen said.

‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world,’ Tosh agreed.

Well, that was team night out checked off Jack’s list of things to sort out. Now he just had to win the dance competition. And also do quite a lot of paperwork. (It just seemed to build up without Ianto there to get him to do it…)

* * *

Luckily enough, the Rift was having a quiet night. So at eight o'clock all four of them were all at the club and working their ways through their first drinks.

Apparently neither Jack nor Owen could face doing a dance battle while sober.

Eventually, however, they seemed to have gotten enough alcohol into their systems, because Owen downed his fourth drink, yelled, ‘Oi, Harkness! Watch this!’ and did a surprisingly good running man.

Jack retaliated with an extraordinary sequence of movement that could just about be called dancing. ‘Take that, Harper!’

Owen stuck his middle finger in the air and dropped to the floor.

* * *

The main lesson learnt from the dance battle was never to let any of the Torchwood team dance ever again.

True, neither of them had been lying about their dance prowess. Jack had a hundred years of experience, and Owen had a lot of evenings in clubs and a copy of Just Dance at home. But combined with large amounts of alcohol… Well, the night got pretty chaotic pretty fast.

Once a slow song started playing, someone had suggested trying something a little more classical. After a few points about partners, Tosh waltzed with Owen, while Gwen and Jack swanned about the floor (this having finally been agreed upon as the least problematic pairing). After a few faulty spins and trodden-on feet, the song came to an end. Then the evening became a bit of a blur. Owen swore they’d started a conga, while Gwen insisted it was a cancan. Tosh claimed to remember Jack giving in and doing the funky chicken, while Jack himself declared he’d never stoop to that level, and that it must have been Owen.

Whatever had happened, they all came into work the next morning extremely hungover and exhausted, and none of them able to remember who had won in the end. Owen said it must have been him, but then Jack said just the same about himself.

It was decided that a second round would be needed to determine the true winner. Or maybe best of three.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I know Just Dance wasn't around in 2007 but hey artistic licence! Hope you enjoyed it :D


End file.
